THE PROS AND CONS OF MODERN CONVENIENCE

Photo by Jess Torre on Unsplash

EASY RIDER 

I see her every time I jog the trail with the steep hills. She wears a bright yellow jacket and a durable helmet; her bike’s taillight flashes red. When other bikers trudge up the hills, they pant and sometimes have to stand up to peddle as their downshifting gears click loudly. I could never figure out how the woman in the yellow jacket climbed the hills so easily, quiet as a mouse, until I noticed the electronic-assist motor on her bike’s frame. How clever. She could use it at any time to propel the bike forward—an especially convenient feature when biking up steep hills. 

Even without the muscles and agility of the other bikers, the woman looked fit, but I wondered how much exercise she got. Still, I realized that she climbs the same steep hills and benefits from fresh air and contact with nature just like the rest of us on the trail. And who knows? Maybe she’s a beginning rider who’s using the electronic-assist motor to give her a strong start on a new activity.

EASIER IS NOT NECESSARILY BETTER

Like bicycle-assist motors, modern conveniences—from online shopping to home meal delivery—make our lives easier. We feel relieved to shed some of the tasks of daily living, and we’re happy to lighten our load. However, these conveniences also make it easier for us to miss physical activity, eat foods of low-nutrient value, and engage in focus-eliminating distractions. Unless we use these conveniences judiciously, our energy, strength, and ability to concentrate may start to decline. That’s when we begin sliding toward the lower end of the health continuum and become more dependent on conveniences to manage our days.

HEALTH EXISTS ON A CONTINUUM

Our states of health exist on a continuum and vary with our circumstances. Low energy, low capacity to function well, and frequent health problems characterize the health continuum’s lower end, while high energy, high capacity, optimism, and infrequent health disturbances characterize the higher end. Typically we are at a higher level early in life, and by regularly rebuilding energy and capacity, we can maintain this state throughout our lives. On the other hand, if our energy and capacity are not cultivated, they diminish, our health state slides toward the lower end of the continuum where illness and health problems arise.

We can still scrape by, hold down jobs, and function adequately with only a small portion of our potentially available energy—for a time. Like driving a car with two bald tires and a weak battery, it may work for a while, but trouble eventually arrives. When health problems arise, our symptoms may be mitigated by medical treatment, but the problems will likely return or show up in different forms if we continue following the same health-diminishing life patterns. 

A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

For many of us, engaging in health-diminishing activities is part of our normal way of living. Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, these activities are more damaging to health than they appear. We are generally not aware that this way of living causes fatigue, pain, indigestion, low mood, poor performance, and a host of other familiar problems that leave us feeling vulnerable, fearful, and anxious as we attempt to resolve them. 

If we do see the connection between life patterns and states of health, we may feel powerless to do anything about it. We rarely receive meaningful guidance about how to build high health, so we don’t feel we have the power to take control and build it. However, when health-building practices are integrated into our normal way of living, many of the imbalances, illnesses, and personal issues we experience are eliminated. 

BUILDING HEALTH IS EASIER AND BETTER IF IT'S CONVENIENT

What if building health were convenient?

What if people could easily come together in engaging, inspiring, and empowering communities and learn how to build high health from knowledgeable, enthusiastic experts? Members would enjoy a sense of belonging, camaraderie, and support and experience health building as a normal way of life. As these communities grow in size and number, health building spreads, becomes more common, and eventually becomes a familiar cultural practice. 

We can find this community in the High Health Network. Like an electronic-bike assist for a new rider, the High Health Network propels us forward until health-building becomes second nature and assistance is no longer necessary. We feel powerful, confident, and liberated as we move up to a high level on the health continuum. When we enjoy high energy, have little need for medical treatment, and function well in life, we’re able to pursue what matters most to us, which improves our lives, our communities, and the world. 

The High Health Network makes it convenient for people to build better health. Our vision is for health building to become a normal way of living and an accepted cultural practice. Make this your vision, too, and—at your convenience—join the High Health Network. 

Joyce M. Young, MD, MPH
Managing Director, Advanced Wellness Systems

Photo by Mark Stosberg on Unsplash

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man’s convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man’s brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others.” —Elizabeth West

Sincerely,
Your colleagues at Advanced Wellness Systems